Saint Joseph Catholic Church

Bishop Erik Varden, OCSO, of Trondheim, Norway, reflected on “On consideration” and “To communicate hope” in today’s final Lenten retreat conferences to the Pope and the Roman Curia.

Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Bishop Rhoades were among the bishops who spoke out against the appointment. Bishop Rhoades also led the recitation of the Rosary at the university’s Lourdes grotto on February 24 for the intention of the university’s fidelity to its Catholic identity.

“Being recognized by Newsweek as the top pediatric hospital in Europe and sixth in the world is a source of gratitude to all the people who work in our hospital every day,” said Tiziano Onesti, the hospital’s president.

Donated to the Vatican in 1924, the hospital is overseen by the Secretariat of State.

The Supreme Court of India recently affirmed that Christians and members of other religious minority groups may be buried in public cemeteries in the Hindu-majority nation. Authorities in Amodi forbade the grieving husband from burying his wife’s body in the public cemetery or on family land, according to the report.

Villagers “opposed the burial and demanded ‘Ghar Wapsi’ (reconversion to Hinduism), while issuing threats that reportedly included physical assault, damage to property, and the possibility of exhumation if burial rites were performed,” according to Catholic Connect. “They also claimed Christian burial practices would defile local land and deities.”

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) offered strong criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration policies in a pair of Supreme Court briefs.

Bishop Erik Varden, OCSO, of Trondheim, Norway, reflected on “God’s angels” and “Bernard the realist”—a reference to St. Bernard of Clairvaux—in his February 26 Lenten retreat conferences to the Pope and the Roman Curia.

Addressing the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe on February 24, Archbishop Gallagher said that international humanitarian law “must always prevail over the ambitions of belligerents, in order to mitigate the devastating effects of war, also with a view to reconstruction.” (In doing so, Archbishop Gallagher quoted Pope Leo’s “state of the world” address.)

The prelate also said that the Holy See “stands ready to support any earnest diplomatic initiatives that place the human person and the alleviation of suffering at the heart of their efforts,” and that “those entrusted with the highest public responsibility must prioritize immediate humanitarian pauses alongside sustained diplomatic engagement.”

“The right to freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, religious freedom and even the right to life are being restricted in the name of other so-called new rights, with the result that the very framework of human rights is losing its vitality and creating space for force and oppression,” Msgr. Daniel Pacho, one of the three undersecretaries of the Holy See’s Secretariat of State, said in Geneva, Switzerland, on February 25.

The prelate called for respect for the right to life, “founded upon the defense of the inalienable dignity of every individual, from the moment of conception to natural death”; protection of the institution of the family; and respect for religious freedom.

“One of the most prevalent crises in today’s world is the ongoing persecution of Christians, affecting over 380 million believers,” he said.

During the February 24 prayer vigil, held at the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere, Cardinal Zuppi asked, “How can we pray always without growing weary? ... The Church, as Pope Leo XIV has said, asks only that the weapons fall silent, that a ceasefire be reached, and that a path toward peace be opened.”